BARNEVELD MASONIC LODGE #319

The first meeting of Barneveld Lodge #319 is recorded as being held on May 13, 1919. The meeting was recorded as an Organizational Communication and the officers present were:

Principle Officers:

• Worshipful Master: Brother W.H. Sommers
• Senior Warden: Brother J.W. Pryor
• Junior Warden: Brother Oren Davis

The minutes read as follows: "The Worshipful Master appointed the following officers to serve during the period of Dispensation:

• Secretary: Brother August G. Bass
• Treasurer: Brother Jerome J. Jones
• Senior Junior: Brother Clarence M. Arneson
• Junior Deacon: Brother Irving Williams
• Trustees: Brother H.V. Bancroft - Brother O.K. Stenseth - Brother Ed. Williams
• Stewards: Brother John Minix - Brother Wilfred Helmenstine
• Chaplain: Brother Rev. Henry Lewis
• Tiler: Brother Ercell Kendrick

Brothers A.G. Bass, J.W. Pryor and Oren Davis were appointed a committee to purchase the necessary supplies.

Charter members:

W.H. Sommers - Dr. H.V. Bancroft - J.W. Pryor - Irving Williams - C.M. Arneson Wilfred Helmenstine - Ercell Kendrick - Bob Helmenstine - John Minix - Jerome J. Jones - O.K. Stenseth - Ed. Williams - Oren Davis - A.G. Bass - Rev. Henry Lewis

It is safe to assume that many informal meetings were held by these men before the recorded meeting took place.

Birth of the Lodge:

The year, 1919, was still back in the horse and buggy days and the nearest lodges were in Mt. Horeb and Dodgeville.  It was not because of friction of any kind, with Mt. Horeb or Dodgeville, which brought about the decision to start a Lodge in Barneveld. These charter members had foresight and could see that the Masonic message, with its teachings of a more perfect philosophy of life, could be of great moral benefit to this community. It meant much time and effort on their part to start this new unit in Barneveld. It is understood that the Mt. Horeb Lodge, of which they were members, was reluctant to lose their membership but saw the need to spread these Masonic teachings more completely to their fellow men As noted above, trips to Mt. Horeb were made by horse and buggy and occasionally by use of the old hand pumped railroad section car, especially when roads were impassable.

Thus, we members of Barneveld Lodge #319 and the Fraternity, owe these brave and farsighted men our sincere appreciation for laying the foundation for this fine Lodge.

The second meeting was recorded on June 23, 1919. At this meeting the first petition was received in the name of Maynard Williams, brother of Irving Williams, Junior Deacon. Maynard was the father of Daniel T. Williams, Past Master in 1978.

The Lodge at this time also entered into an agreement with the local Odd Fellows Lodge to rent and share their lodge rooms for a period of two years, with the privilege of purchasing later on

A donation of $100.00 was made by Brother Jerome J. Jones (the local banker) for the purpose of buying new furniture consisting of the altar and pillars. Dues collected from the 15 Charter members were $65, and together with the donation for furniture and $10000 petition fee, the Lodge started out with money in the bank.

Regular meetings were held and business seemed to pick up, as fifteen (15) petitions were received the first year, with the minutes showing degree work at each meeting.

On July 24, 1920, the first regularly elected officers were installed by Officers of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. Although the minutes do not show it, the Lodge received its official Charter from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin on June 9, 1920. Until that date, they were operating under a special dispensation.

From then on there was a steady inflow of petitioners, and probably the high point was reached in mass production when on November 29, 1921, Barneveld Lodge #319 raised eight (8) candidates to the sublime degree of Master Mason. This was quite an event. Lodge was opened in the afternoon and all candidates were examined. A banquet dinner was served in the M.W.A. Hall at 6:00 PM and from then until after midnight the candidates went thru the mill. The minutes say lunch was served at 12:00 midnight, but it was probably closer to 2:30 A.M.

Another milestone was the occasion of raising our 100th member on June 27, 1927.  The degree work was done by the Mt. Horeb Lodge for Brother John L. Frame of Blue Mounds, WI.

This steady growth continued until the early 1930's when hard times were beginning to be felt. By 1933 very few petitions came in and, in fact, no candidates were raised for quite a period of time, Dues became delinquent and in arrears.  It was a big problem to collect enough to pay Grand Lodge dues and to keep the membership intact. Some Brothers took a demit, while others were dropped temporarily for non-payment of dues.  All in all, this Lodge fared very well and in time many delinquent members were reinstated. Since that time the Lodge had received members at a rate that kept everyone busy. With that steady growth the members deemed it advisable to obtain some control of the building they were in and voted to purchase one-half interest from Brother J.W. Pryor in 1947.

Old Lodge Building:

It became more and more apparent, however, that a building with a lodge room and more facilities was necessary. So, in 1950, a building on our present site at the northwest corner of Jones and Douglas Streets was purchased from Brother Gwenfall A. Watson.  Our interest in the Odd Fellows building on West Orbison Street was sold to the Miners Lodge No. 4, IOOF of Barneveld.

The new building (at Jones & Douglas) had to have as great deal of remodeling. Many man hours were donated by members of the Lodge, with most of the work being done in this manner. Thus, the building, equipment and furniture, together with donated funds and materials, were made possible without any appreciable debt. The new Temple was dedicated on October 23, 1952 with nine Wisconsin Grand Lodge Officers present and taking part in the dedication.

The records of Barneveld Lodge #319 show that we reached our peak in membership shortly after the dedication of our new Temple.

New Lodge Building:

On January 29, 1976 however, the Lodge suffered a disaster. An early morning fire so heavily damaged the building that it had to be razed. The Lodge minute-book and records were stored at Sec. Otto Oimoen's home and thus were saved. Some of the Lodge furniture was salvageable and is still in use.

On June 8, 1984 we suffered a second disaster, when a tornado destroyed much of the village of Barneveld. The Lodge hall was severely damaged both by wind and water. Fortunately insurance coverage was adequate and we recovered and were able to provide one of the first buildings for the community to use during the rebuilding process. Our lodge hall was used for municipal meetings, church services by both the Congregational and Lutheran congregations, and even as a community restaurant (or soup kitchen) for local builders, While we grieved with the community for, its loss of life and property, we are proud to have been of service at this time

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On April 28, 1985 we were pleased to have the Grand Lodge Officers present to re-dedicate our reconstructed Temple. This dedication was the assurance that the influence of Barneveld Masonic Lodge #319 would continue to play an important part in helping direct life in the communities in which our members reside.

Barneveld Lodge in Modern Times:

Barneveld Lodge #319 today, continues its community support; with the Scholarship program for Barneveld and Pecatonica Schools; donations to our local community organizations, such as the Barneveld EMS, Hollandale First Responders, Barneveld ambulance fund and the Memorial Hospital of Iowa County improvement project; helping families in distress and many other ways of showing our support. These and many other Lodge functions and programs of the Masonic Fraternity, help play an important part in our village and communities, to direct a high measure of good moral living standards of Truth, Relief and Brotherly Love and Affection toward all people.

We are also proud of the Masonic accomplishments of our members. Two of our Brothers have been elected to the highest degree in Masonry, the 33rd Degree, for their contributions to the Fraternity and their community. They are Anton S. Arneson, Jr. and Donald G. Komplin. Both have been active in Scottish Rite Masonry as well as York Rite and Shrine. Additionally, Past Master Lawrence L. Myers has been active in the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin and was elected and installed as Grand Master of Masons in Wisconsin on June 8, 1998.

It is the vision of Barneveld Masonic Lodge #319, that with these tenants, of Friendship, Morality and Brotherly Love, we will continue to grow in numbers as well as in influence in our communities. As we celebrated our 75th anniversary in 1994 our membership stood at 73. Due to the grim reaper being ever present, our membership has declined. On April 4, 1998, however, we were privileged to have seven (7) candidates for Freemasonry added to our rolls through the 3rd Man-to-Mason Class held in the Stater in Madison. These brethren brought our membership, as of June 1998, to 76. In 1999/2000 we were honored to raise three to the sublime degree of Master Mason.

This history, as originally presented by Past Master Anton B. Arneson, Sr. at the 50th Anniversary of our Lodge on May 13, 1969, was updated for our 75th Anniversary in 1994 by Past Master Carl Arneson (Anton's youngest son) Secretary/Treasurer, for presentation at the Lodge's Sweetheart Dinner held February 19, 1994.

Updated May 11th, 2000.